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What Is The Best Amp You Ever Owned?

faulknersj

faulknersj

Supporting Member
Apr 4, 2008
5,437
5,898
Scottsdale Az
#1
I am just curious what the experience has been for others!

I started thinking about all the amps I have owned…SWR SM 900, Fender 800 Pro, Hartke HA500, Mesa Boogie 400+, Ampeg SVT, GK 800 RB, Mark Bass, Genz Benz Streamliner, Genz Benz Shuttlemax and I'm sure I'm leaving out quite a few lol.

I'm personally torn between the Mesa Boogie 400+ which I toured with in the early 2000's and the Genz Benz Shuttlemax 6 which has been my main squeeze for the better part of the last 10 years.

What about you?
 
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#2
I owned a ton of amps over about fifty years, so best may vary depending on the timeframe I had them. Probably the best, overall in "modern" times (this century) was my Walter Woods Electracoustic Super.
WW Amp In Rack Oa 01.jpg


During the time I had The WW amp I also had a couple of Markbass amps (LM II and F1), then I bought an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500, which my current favorite, particularly as I sold the Electracoustic Super a few years ago.

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My first amp was a 1974 Traynor YBA-3 that I bought new back in the day. I've owned a few SWR amps, a couple of Alembic F-1X preamps that were used with a couple of Stewart World 1.2 amps, an Aguilar DB659 preamp with a Stewart World 600, a second version sunn (o))) Concert Bass amp, an Eden WT400, a couple of different versions of Walter Woods MI100-8 amps, two Gallien-Krueger RB700s, a Gallien-Krueger 400RB, mid '70s Traynor YSR-1, a '78 Furman PQ-3 into a Crown D150A, a 1966 7ender BandMaster head that I sent to Gerald Weber (Kendrik Amplifiers) to do some mods and massaging on the BandMaster that made it into a beast :bassist:. I'm sure I am forgetting some amps I've had. This does not include the slew of speaker cabinets I owned, going back to the early '70s.

And that is just the bass amps! :D

Edit: typo
 
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#3
I also had a Mesa 400+ in the 90's and I loved it, but I haven't heard one since I sold it a few years later, so it's hard to compare the amps I own now with the fading memory of that icon.

How do you choose between memories and the present?

[EDIT] All things considered, the best of all time is my latest aquisition, Pure Tone Amps Mini Tone, but it's still my honeymoon, does that count?
 
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#6
Az Bass said:
I am just curious what the experience has been for others!

I started thinking about all the amps I have owned…SWR SM 900, Fender 800 Pro, Hartke HA500, Mesa Boogie 400+, Ampeg SVT, GK 800 RB, Mark Bass, Genz Benz Streamliner, Genz Benz Shuttlemax and I'm sure I'm leaving out quite a few lol.

I'm personally torn between the Mesa Boogie 400+ which I toured with in the early 2000's and the Genz Benz Shuttlemax 6 which has been my main squeeze for the better part of the last 10 years.

What about you?
Click to expand...

Try the Mesa TT-800. It's modeled after the Bass 400/400+ and you can hear that legacy, though it doesn't OD as aggressively as the 400+. It also has a separate Subway channel for more modern tone. I really like it alot. It's the only hybrid amp I've played that really feels like an all-tube head.
 
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#7
Like the OP, I have owned or played through just about every major brand of amp / cabinet combination available over the 52 years I've played bass. The Streamliner and Bag End 15s do it for me. Adding the HX Stomp XL allows me to use a who lot of bass or guitar amp models as the front end, if desired, using the Streamliner Aux In. I kept a couple Acme B2 cabinets for FRFR, in case I want to use the Stomp cabinets or IRs. The tech has come a long way!

By the way, the Stomp / Streamliner / Bag End combination is also a pretty sweet guitar rig.
 
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#10
Currently, I like both my Mesa D800 and D800+ amps tremendously.

However, I'm going to answer your question by offering up the most memorable amp and that would be my '75 SVT. A lot things happened during its 20 year tenure with me. But I don't miss its quirks and boat anchor weight.
 
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#12
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My current 3 setups. Due to its size, my Aguilar TH500/Aguilar GS112x2 sees the most use for live playing.

I've had my Demeter HBP-1/Crest CA9 setup the longest. Through the Mesa Powerhouse 610 pictured, it's absolutely earth shattering. I don't think there's any other bass rig that I've owned has the sound and feel that it has.

The Tech 21 GED-2112/Yamaha PX5 setup I bought to run a "Clean"/"Dirty" amp setup. I have several different speaker cabinets, but my favorites to use with it so far are my pair of Mesa Powerhouse 212s. Running separate amps/cabinets with separate Clean/Dirty signals simultaneously is incredible. I look forward to using this setup on an outdoor gig.
 
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#14
The first black face Bassman I had, when I was in high school in the mid 70s. Bought the head and cab for $150. When our band split up after school ended I sold it to a friend for $125 because I didn't need a gig rig anymore.
The Bassman I have now sounds wonderful but it's not quite the amp my first one was. And it cost a fair bit more than the other one.
 
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#19
Az Bass said:
I am just curious what the experience has been for others!

I started thinking about all the amps I have owned…SWR SM 900, Fender 800 Pro, Hartke HA500, Mesa Boogie 400+, Ampeg SVT, GK 800 RB, Mark Bass, Genz Benz Streamliner, Genz Benz Shuttlemax and I'm sure I'm leaving out quite a few lol.

I'm personally torn between the Mesa Boogie 400+ which I toured with in the early 2000's and the Genz Benz Shuttlemax 6 which has been my main squeeze for the better part of the last 10 years.

What about you?
Click to expand...

The best integrated head was a 70's Hiwatt Custom 100. My WD-800 is a real close second and is the best hybrid (no output power tubes) or solid state integrated head.

The best rig including integrated heads, not only out of all the ones I've owned and it's a number of them, the best rig I've ever heard is my Eden rack rig. WT-100 Navigator Pre-amp feeding a WT-1250 stereo power amp. It also happens to be the heaviest.
 
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#20
My mesa d800+ is my favorite. So many options to easily hook up any cab configuration.
I still have an SWR workingmans that I've loved for years and a carvin redline 1000 biamp that does the job but the mesa kicks their butts.
I tried to love a gk mb500 but in the end I just didn't care for it.
 
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